Atomizer for carburetors



Dec. 12, 1944. l- F LEE 2,364,987

ATOMIZER FOR CARBURETORS Fig.

} Inventor I Y Har% E Lee y m Dec. 12, 1944. H. F. LEE

ATOMIZER FOR CARBURETORS Filed March 29, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2- Fig.2.

Patented Dec. 12, 1944 \"MUNITED/ STATES PATENT OFFICE ATOMIZER FOR CARBUBETORS Harry F. Lee, Grand Junction, Colo.

Application March 29, 1943. Serial No. 480,946 '3 Claims. (01. 261-18) (Granted under the act oi March 3. 1883 as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) v This application is made under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended by the act of April 30, 1928, and the invention herein described, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to carburetors, and in particular to the improvement in jets for atomizing the fuel. Although particularly useful as an atomizing jet for carburetors, the invention finds application in any field where it is desirable to atomize a liquid in gas.

The objects of the invention are to provide an atomizer which will divide the liquid particles into very fine subdivisions, and to thereby produce an improved carburetor, and such other objects as will be apparent from the following specification and annexed drawings, in which:

Figure 1 i a cross-sectional view of a portion of the carburetor embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the improved atomizer; and

Figure 3 is an exploded cross-sectional threedimensional view of the atomizer.

Referring with more particularity to the drawings, in which like numerals designate like parts, the carburetor body comprises an upper cast tubular member 4, a middle cast tubular member 5, and a lower cast tubular member 6, the members when assembled forming a. continuous, upright, tubular air passage. The upper member 4 carries within it the yieldable air valve regulating assembly and provides the only air inlet to the carburetor. The upper member 4 is attached to the middle member 5 and held in alignment therewith by mean of a horizontal flange I. To the upper portion 8 of the member 4, the usual air cleaner 9 (fragmentarily shown) is attached to the device. Integral with the member 4 is a cup-shaped member ID, concentrically secured to the inner walls by means of ribs I l. The upper rim of the cup is recessed to provide a removable mounting for a shield l3. Integral with said cupshaped member is an elongated vertical collar l2, slidably receiving a shaft I4. A sleeve I is slidably disposed around the collar l2, and has a flanged portion 15a upon which the lower ends of two concentric springs l6 and I! are seated. The upper end of the outer, or idling, spring I1 is adjustably secured to the threaded top of the shaft I4, by means Of the nuts l8 and I9. The

H, where it is slidably engaged with the shaft I4. Between the upper terminal point of the spring I 6 and the upper terminal point of the spring l1, nuts 20 and 2| are adjustably disposed on the shaft I4, and are adapted to abut the end of the spring l6 when the shaft I4 is translated a predetermined distance downwardly.

The middle tubular member 5 carries an inwardly extending flange having an annular downwardly facing shoulder 22, constituting the outer seat for the air valve 26. A Venturi tube 23 is coaxially disposed concentric within the middle member 5, supported by means of radially extending ribs 24 connecting it to the middle member. Said Venturi tube is outwardly flanged at its upper end to form an annular downwardly facing shoulder 25, constituting the inner seat for the air valve 26, which is in the form of a wide washer and is coaxially disposed around said Venturi tube 23 below the shoulders 22 and 25. In the closed position, the valve 26 contacts the shoulders 22 and 25 and seals the opening therebetween. The valve 26 is supported by a spider 2! having arms 21a extending downwardly between the ribs 24 and attached to the air valve allowing space for passage of air between the ribs and arms. The spider 21 is secured to the lower end of the shaft l4, and by the action of the spring H, the valve 26 is normally yieldably held against the seats 22 and 25 by means of the yieldable air valve regulating assembly.

The tubular member 5 is hermetically sealed between the upper and lower tubular members 4 and 6 by means 01 gaskets 28 and 29, cap screws 30 and lock washers 3|. The tubular member 8 is tapered toward the bottom, the inner walls being in the form of another Venturi tube conforming to the general shape of an inverted milkbottle neck, the larger upper section 32 constituting a part of the suction chamber, and the lower section 33 constituting the throat or mixing chamber. A suitable stream-lined bracket 34, integral with tubular member 6, is provided with a channel 35 for delivery of liquid fuel from the outside.

A Venturi tube butterfly valve 42 for adjustably controlling'the flow of air through the Venturi tube is disposed within the upper portion of Venturi tube 23 on one end of a horizontal shaft 43 which is rotatably mounted in the walls of the Venturi tube 23 and the middle member 5 and has its other end extending outside the casting.

A throttle ibutterfiy valve 44 is disposed in the lower portion of tubular member 6 on a shaft 45, which shaft is rotatably mounted in bearings 46 and 41 in the walls of member 6 parallel to the shaft 43, one end of said shaft 45 extending through said wall on the same side as the extending end of shaft 43.

Arms 48 and 49 are secured to the exterior ends of the shafts 45 and 43, respectively, substantially as shown.

Another shaft 50 is rotatably mounted through a wall of the upper member 4 to which a cam located beneath the flange lSa is attached. The exterior end of the shaft 50 carries forked arms 52 and 53. The lower arm 53 is pivotally attached to a link 54. The other end of this link is bifurcated to straddle the arm 49, and is provided with slots 55, 55, which slidably engage a pin 56 extending through the end of the arm 49. A spring 51 is mounted under tension between the end of the arm 49 and a convenient fixed point 58 of the member 0 by means of which the butterfly valve 42 is normally held in an open position. This valve is restrained from closing, due to rotation of shaft 43 beyond the position shown, under the action of the spring 51, by means of an abutment (not shown) normally engaging the under side of the arm 49.

Intake air as it flows downwardly through Venturi tube 23 passes the let 60 located inside the Venturi tube immediately below valve 42. The Jet comprises a jet-stem Bl, screw-threadedly supported by the bracket 34 and having a channel 62 communicating with the bracket channel 35 a its lower end and communicating with laterally extending outlet ports 63 near its upper end. A semispherical shaped cap-piece 64, which acts as a deflecting head, has its base screw-threaded onto the upper end of the jetstem and forms therewith a chamber 65 into which ports 63 open. The bottom of the cappiece is provided with an integrally formed seating ring 56 having radially disposed grooves 61 cut therein forming outlets from chamber 65 located near thehead. A spreader plate 64 in the form of a washer is seated on a shoulder 89 formed on the Jet-stem, and is locked between the seating ring 66 and the shoulder, thus being positioned away from the head and beyond the outlet of the liquid passage. A resonance chamber, or cup 10, having a thin cylindrical wall is attached to the jet-stem with the rim H of the cup concentric with the edge of the cap-piece and positioned slightly radially outwardly therefrom, thus forming a narrow gap 12 through which the liquid passes into the gas stream.

The atomizer operates substantially as follows: As air or other gas moves downwardly through tube 23, fuel or other liquid is drawn, due to the pressure drop caused by the Venturi tube, or is forced, through channel 62, outlet ports 83, chamber 65, grooves 61, over the spreader plate 8, and out through gap 12 into the stream of gas. The gas. at the region of its contact with the liquid, impinges on the lip H, creating a sound wave in a manner similar to the action of a whistle. The frequency of the wave depends on acoustical laws as applied to the resonance chamber 10. For use in a carburetor, the resonance chamber is very small, and the frequency is supersonic.

The full force of the high frequency sound wave is concentrated in the narrow gap I2, and the liquid. already spread thin, is exposed to the shattering impact -of' the high frequency wave. In consequence it is broken into a very fine state of subdivision.

The utility of the atomizer in devices other than carburetors is obvious. Its application to the atomiz ng of fuel in a carburetor is of particular utility, however, since more finely dividing the fuel results in better vaporization, and in a consequent increase in carburetor efficiency. The subject-matter of the carburetor, except as to the improved atomizer disclosed and claimed in this application, is substantially the same as that disclosed and claimed in ccpending application, Serial No. 492,827, filed June 30, 1943, and granted August 9, 1944, Patent No. 2,357,- 673.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A carburetor comprising an inlet through which air flows, at jet-stem positioned in the inlet and provided with a liquid fuel inlet passage communicating near its one end with laterally extending outlet ports, a semispherical shaped cap-piece screw-threaded onto the port and of the Jet-stem with its rounded surface positioned toward the incoming stream of air and provided with a radially grooved seating ring on its other surface, said cap-piece and jetstem being constructed to form a chamber communicating with the outlet ports and with the grooves in the seating ring, a plate clamped between a shoulder on the jet-stem and the seating ring for receiving liquid fuel from the grooves of the seating ring and distributing it radially outwardly, and a cup having a thin cylindrical wall forming a resonance chamber secured to the jet-stem with the rim of the cup concentric with the edge of the cap-piece and positioned slightly radially outwardly and slightly below said edge, thus forming a narrow gap through which the liquid fuel passes into the air stream, whereby the air stream impinging upon the rim is set into a supersonic wave and thereby shatters the fuel spray into a very fine state of subdivision.

2. An atomizer comprising a tube through which gas passes, and an atomizing jet positioned in the tube, said jet comprising a jetstem provided with a liquid inlet passage communicating near its one end with laterally extending outlet ports, a semispherical shaped cap-piece screw-threaded onto the port end of the jet-stem with its rounded surface positioned toward the incoming stream of gas and provided with a radially grooved seating ring on its other surface, said cap-piece and jet-stem being constructed to form a chamber communicating with the outlet ports and with the grooves in the seating ring, a plate clamped between a shoulder on the jet-stem and the seating ring for receiving liquid from the grooves and distributing it radially outwardly, and a cup having a thin cylindrical wall and forming'a resonance chamber secured to the jet-stem with the rim of the cup concentric with the edge of the cappiece and positioned slightly radially outwardly therefrom, thus form ng a narrow gap through which the liquid passes into the gas stream, whereby the gas stream impinging upon the rim is set into a vibrating wave and thereby shatters the liquid into a very fine state of subdivision.

3. An atomizer comprising a tube through which gas passes, and an atomiz'ng jet positioned in the tube, said jet comprising a gasdeilecting semispherical shaped head with its rounded surface positioned toward the incoming stream of gas, a jet-stem secured to the base of the head and provided with a liquid passage having an outlet near the head, a plate positioned away from the head and beyond the outradially outwardly therefrom, thus forming a let of the liquid passage for receiving liquid narrow gap through which the liquid passes into from the outlet and distributing it radially outthe gas stream, whereby the gas impinging on wardly, and a cup having a thin cylindrical wall the rim is set into a vibrating wave and thereby and forming a resonance chamber secured to the 5 shatters the liquid into a, very fine state of subjet-stem with the rim of the cup concentric with division. the edge of the cap-piece and positioned slightly 

